Listen to business concerns during Brexit negotiations - CBI

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn urged the government to continue listening to businesses in the UK and Europe "to make a success of Brexit".

She argued that falling back on World Trade Organisation rules "would be damaging, so the pressure is on to deliver the best possible deal, as well as a smooth and orderly exit".

The UK faces skills and labour shortages so businesses will welcome the opportunity to help design a post-Brexit migration system which works for all sectors. It is critical that business has access to the graduate and non-graduate workers our economy needs to thrive.”

Union blasts government over Brexit impact on jobs and wages

The GMB union has described the government's white paper outlining its Brexit strategy as bordering on "a fairy tale".

General secretary Tim Roache says it contains no assessment of the impact on jobs and wages of leaving the single market and customs union.

“Either they have no idea what they are doing and are playing fast and loose with people's livelihoods - or the truth is too awful to share with the public," he said.

He claims it is "astounding" that there "is not a single reference to the NHS" despite the Leave campaign's promise that leaving the EU would result in an extra £350 million a week for the health service.

Mr Roache also called for the government to protect workers' rights by putting guarantees into legislation.

Watch: MPs' Brexit vote 'without precedence'

What does the White Paper say about trade?

Posted at16:232 Feb

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The UK will withdraw from the single market and seek a new customs arrangement and an "ambitious and a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement".

It adds: "That agreement may take in elements of current single market arrangements in certain areas as it makes no sense to start again from scratch when the UK and the remaining member states have adhered to the same rules for so many years. Such an arrangement would be on a fully reciprocal basis and in our mutual interests."

The government also wants to strike trade deals with other countries around the world. The document says the government is looking at ways to "achieve continuity" in its trade relationships with countries that have free trade agreements with the EU.

'Devil in detail' on White Paper - Friends of The Earth

Friends of the Earth is happy that the Brexit White Paper includes a commitment to bring EU environmental protections into UK law but says the "devil will be in the detail".

Campaigner Samuel Lowener, said it was "sensible" that the government had left open the possibility of remaining part of some EU regulatory bodies.

"Continuing to maintain a level regulatory playing field on issues such as chemical safety with our European neighbours is not only good for people and the environment, it makes sense for business too," he said.

Karen Danczuk 'would like to be MP'

BBC Radio 5 live

Posted at16:052 Feb

Karen Danczuk has told Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 live that she would like to return to politics and become an MP, because she believes "my voice is important".

Ms Danczuk, who has been a councillor in the past and is estranged from her husband the MP for Rochdale, Simon Danczuk, said: "I want to get back into politics, and I've been thinking this past week, actually I would love to be an MP, I genuinely would, and I just hope I can get the support out there to enable that."

14 weeks of annual leave?

Posted at16:032 Feb

bbc

Chart 7.1 of the government's Brexit White Paper has raised a few eyebrows. It comes in a section comparing employment practices in the UK with the rest of the EU, and appears to suggest British workers are entitled to 14 weeks of annual leave. Sounds good to us...

Special deals for car firms in White Paper?

BBC News Channel

Posted at15:322 Feb

It appears the government is looking at special deals for key sectors - financial services, car manufacturers and chemical exports - to ensure they retain the benefits of the single market, says the BBC's Norman Smith.

He also says Diane Abbott is under pressure after failing to turn up to vote - because she was sick. Her fellow Labour MP John Mann accused her of cowardice and said she should apologise.

Meanwhile Chris Leslie, a Labour MP who voted against triggering Article 50, tells the BBC he has not spoken to Ms Abbott about it but adds: "Diane, if you're watching, get well soon."

'Neck and neck' in Stoke on Trent?

Posted at15:102 Feb

In Stoke on Trent, where Tristram Hunt's Stoke Central seat is up for grabs after the Labour MP quit to become director of London's V&A Museum, new UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has his eye on a Westminster seat.

Mick Temple, Professor of journalism and politics at the University of Staffordshire says Brexit is the number one issue on the doorstep - he's hearing from Labour activists - and the party is not out of reach for UKIP.

"It's quite conceivable and I know that Labour are worried. At the moment they are calling it neck and neck," he says.

He thinks turnout will be low - below 49% - and says it's key for Labour that they get their vote out.

He said that increased talk of anti-Semitism in the wake of a row within the Labour Party may have led to more people reporting incidents but "it's also led to more people crawling out from underneath the stone ... and feeling emboldened to abuse people with racist hate speech".

He said the fact that the trend was "significantly" upwards meant there must be effective action to diminish anti-Semitism to protect Jewish people.

"Anti-Semitism is creeping up, it's on the rise, it's become, for far too many people, the acceptable face of racism, the thing they can get away with."

In case you missed it: BBC Political Editor's blog after Wednesday's vote

Laura Kuenssberg

BBC political editor

Posted at13:572 Feb

It's begun.

After decades of debate, years of acrimony over the issue in the Conservative Party, months of brutal brinksmanship in Westminster, and hours of debate this week, MPs have approved the very first step in the process of Britain leaving the European Union.

There are many hurdles ahead, probably thousands of hours of debate here, years of negotiations for Theresa May with our friends and rivals around the EU, as she seeks a deal - and possibly as long as a decade of administrative adjustments, as the country extricates itself from the EU.

On a wet Wednesday, the debate didn't feel epoch-making, but think for a moment about what has just happened.

MPs, most of whom wanted to stay in the EU, have just agreed that we are off.